The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-10-28
BROOKS HIGH LICENSE Law.


exercising the minds of the lawyers in
every judicial district in the state, as
it has become necessary TO formulate
aud adopt code of Rules for practice
under it. All applications for license
must be made aud heard at time to
be fixed by Rule of Court, and shall
be for one year from date fixed by
Rule of Court.
Under old laws licenses could be aud
were granted at the first or second
terms of Court in any year; and they
expired in February or May as the case
might be. This can no longer be done,
and to fix time least inconvenient TO
parties, witnesses and Court, and at
the same time to prevent losses by
lapses If licenses or duplicates thereof,
are matters of no little difficulty: and
indeed in spite of the best considera-
tion that can be given TO the subject
some losses must occur, which the
court is powerless to remedy.
The law is imperfect in its details
and some of it's provisions, and in
many respects very inartiticially drawn;
and how much of the old legislation
remains and how mpch is repealed will
occasion great controversy for some
years. There is no general repeating
clause in the Act, and all pre-existing
laws not supplied by it remain in force.
There is no provision, for instance,
about the transfer of a license granted
under the previous laws, but the courts
have not hesitated to transfer licenses
heretofore granted.
The Act is 80 drawn as to be not
subject to any logical system OF con-
struction II does not In any place re-
quire that the applicant shall have bed,
house accommodations, or stable room;
and yet in the fifth section it requires
the petition to set out that the place
to be licensed is necessary for the &C.
commodation of the public and in the
seventh section the court may refuse
the license when such license is not
necessary for the accommodation of the
public, and the entertainment of
strangers or travellers. Under this,
must the beds, house room and stabling
be provided and shown to the Court
as by the old law or not! Is the old
law, in this regard repealed Or does it
remain in force No man can tell.
Again the wording is not uniform.
In the first section the words are "Any
house, room or place, hotel, Inn or
tavern $" in the four h section they are
"all licensed and unlicensed hotels,tav
erns, inns, restaurants or saloons,
three or four times over in the eighth
section we return to ''any house, room
or place, hotel, inn or tavern" and in
the eighteenth section the same words
are used.
1t is true in the fourth section the
words designating the SOFT of place
where sales are made, are or seem to
be restricted to cities of the first class
and yet no doubt, what we call restau-
rants, saloons or eating houses must
be included and licensed under the
words in the first section, to-wit. "any
house, room or place. A competent
lawyer drawing highly penal statute
would have used words and names
with great care, and with a view to
protect as well as warn the public and
individuals. "Said petition, in the fifth
section must refer to the words "for a
license as aforesaid in any city OIL
county," and they all to a license ste
keep or maintain any house, room ol
place, hotel, Inn or tavern where vim.
Gus, srirituOus, malt or brewed liquors
or any admixture thereof may be sold
Now if these words mean anything
they must mean to draw and acknow
ledge some distinction as existing be
tween what is designated as "any
house, room or place, hotel, inn or tav
ern:" and manifestly license may b
asked for and granted for "room" il
which liquors may be sold, but il
which neither the strangers nor travel
ers can procure accommodation or en-
tertainment. And so equally of
~house" Or "place." For license t
keep or maintain any one of these i
contemplated by the Act, and 'the ac
commodation of the public" is what tn
petition requires, and all it requires.
II he wants a license to keep o
maintain a house, room or place to Sc.
SinOns, spirituous, malt or bre9e,
liquors, then he does not need to pro
vide himself with the beds, house room
or stablipg required to keep or main
lain hotel, inn or tavern for the az
commodation of the public, and III
entertainment of strangers or travellers
The accommodation under the fift
section might BE-, would be, the cor
yenience of procuring a glass of liquor
bnt the entertainment of strangers O
Travellers requires food, rooms, bed
privacy. stabling, hay, oats and stabl
man.
These are a few of the most obyiou
difficulties, and no doubt the practices
working of the law will develop NOR
and more grievous ones, which do nc
lie within tho line of this discussio
and which therefore are not consider